


Prince

by Prankstyr



Category: Bastion
Genre: Feelings, Multi, Other, Tears, Zulf-centric, suddenly polyamory, they kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2013-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-03 16:32:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1072693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prankstyr/pseuds/Prankstyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zulf is sad. The Kid and Zia decide to make him not sad. Written for the kink meme.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this (ancient) prompt on the kink meme: http://bastionkinked.dreamwidth.org/404.html?thread=6036#cmt6036

Rucks was essentially not surprised at all when Zia and The Kid first got together, after he brought her back from the Ura. You were significantly more surprised when you found out. She whispered it to you like some secret as you lay recovering in the best tent.  
  
"We kissed, Zulf. He likes me!" She was blushing and utterly happy and you smiled for her.  
  
"Congratulations," you responded, even though inside all you could think was how unfair it all was. You never even got the chance to marry your fiancé. She was supposed to be your wife. You were supposed to show her around the Tazal Terminals, marry her like a Cael and marry her like an Ura. You didn't get the chance to.  
  
Why did they?  
  
But life moved on. Like it always does, no matter how much you'd like a break every once in a while.  
  
You always prided yourself on doing a fair share of work around the Bastion. Minor repairs, helping Rucks to reconstruct the history of Caelondia, playing along with Zia on a little flute the two of you forged, cleaning. Mostly cleaning. Under your eye, there was nary a speck of dust anywhere around.  
  
It was near impossible for you to clean, now. Your ribs were still shot to hell. Couldn't lift your arms past your shoulders without needing a couple shots of Mender Mead after to dull the burn. So you cooked. It had always been Zia's thing, but now it was yours. You traded jobs. She didn't like the cleaning as much, you could tell, but she took to it with enough enthusiasm to match and even outperform your previous diligence.  
  
So she dusted and swept and shined, and you chopped and sautéd and boiled, and the Kid built and hunted, and Rucks piloted and wrote and cared for the animals, and you all managed to make some sort of balance out of your new life together.  
  
You went to the Shrine and cried for your wife every night before you went to sleep.  
  
The Kid and Zia walked in on you one night, on both knees, looking like you were meditating for all they knew. Except for the tears streaming down your face. That somewhat shattered the image.   
  
They opened the door quietly, giggling like mad to each other, rumpled up and blushing. Obviously about to tear their clothes off and rut like wild animals for a while. You tried to bring yourself to be insulted about their attempted desecration of the Shrine. You couldn't manage to dredge up the energy for it.  
  
"Um…hi?" Zia asked more than said, straightening out her top. "Are you ok?"  
  
You smiled a bit. "Doing fine. The usual."  
  
"If this is your ok, I'd hate to see your not-ok." That was the Kid. Always as blunt with his remarks as his hammer with metal.  
  
You let your head fall back and you laughed uproariously. "Nothing's changed, fellow survivors." You spat the word. "We're still here and she's still not here and I won't ever not be sad about that. It'd be a dishonor to her memory to forget her."  
  
Zia stood, trembling a little bit, like she wanted to do something but couldn't figure out what. Kid just shook his head. "Bullshit. You'll never forget her, Zulf. You don't have to be sad about her to remember her."  
  
You fixed him with a deadly glare. "Don't insult Pyth in here."  
  
"You're deflecting." He stared right back, but not with anger. With…caring. Not even pity. "You aren't the only one who lost someone you loved."  
  
Zia nodded furiously. "Yeah!" Nacie. Right. You had forgotten about her.  
  
You sat silent for precisely three moments. "…how do you do it? How can you move on from something that beautiful?"  
  
Kid looked at you. Looked at the Idols. Looked at Zia. "There are things here just as beautiful, Zulf."  
  
"Like what?" You growled, suddenly rising to your feet. "What could ever be?"  
  
"You," Zia said, and the Kid nodded in agreement. You were baffled. They thought you were beautiful? _Beautiful_? You betrayed them.  
  
You voiced your thoughts. "I betrayed you."  
  
"We forgave you," Kid responded without missing a beat. Why were you starting to cry again? That's not good. They couldn't know what you're feeling. You couldn't know what you're feeling. There was too much hurt, too much everything, and too much of the Kid hugging you _when did that happen_.   
  
You shrugged him off your shoulders, but he hugged you again, and then Zia joined in, and you were all on the floor in a pathetic little puddle of sad. You sniffed.  
  
"Let it out," Zia said, squeezing her grip around your waist a little tighter.  
  
"I don't wanna," you whispered, voice catching in your throat.  
  
The Kid leaned your head into his chest. It was warm, and strong, and there. "Too bad."  
  
You broke.  
  
And cried.  
  
Sobbed.  
  
Screamed.  
  
Pain.  
  
Misery.  
  
Why  
  
why  
  
 _why_  
  
And when you were done, heaving yourself to your feet, they came with you. And laid down with you. And smothered you with gentle kisses and lulled you to sleep and gods, you hated them so much but you loved them twice as much.  
  
Acobi save you. They had you in their grasp and they weren't letting go.  
  
When you tried to sneak off to the Shrine again? Kid distracted you with the sweetest kiss you'd ever received.  
  
When you leaned just a bit too far over the railing? Zia grabbed you by hair and screamed at you until you had to hug her just to get her to quiet down.  
  
Looks like you had a little safety net now. How dare they. You missed being miserable. Now you didn't have an excuse to crush the little smiles you found yourself sporting every once in a while.   
  
But hey, at least Zia let you keep cooking. It's been tasting even better than mine, she said with a wink when you asked her why. The Kid agreed, apparently. Rucks just smiled to himself.  
  
Smiles. Everywhere. How odd.  
  
How pleasant.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> As always, I can be found at 2fab4lyffe.tumblr.com.
> 
> COMMENT OR ELSE


End file.
